I don't have any kids myself, but my girlfriend has a son (8) and I have 3 nephews (2,3,4).  It has come down to this, the 8 yr old can touch whatever, because he really doesn't like toys.  The 2 & 3yr old you can guess what that do.  The 4 yr old is banned.  I got so many horror stories about him its not funny.  I bought him Override & Hotshot at noon ,By 3pm they had parts everywhere.  I once let him play with my A Overload & he just slammed it on the ground.  I also got him some DBZ figs & he makes them fight hard.  His counselor said thats how some little boys play. I think you just need to know the child. 

I also got a bun a in the oven.  I have two girls one is 7 she plays with Bratz and another who is 3, she loves playing with my g1 minibots and targetmasters in car mode.

I don't have kids but I've got 2 nephews that actually played a big part in me starting to collect TF's again.

 

It started with the original Power Rangers and worked it's way up. That got my nephews interested in fighting robots. They got some of the small Transformers cars that were out at the time, but it wasn't until Beast Wars started that they really started getting into them.

 

Seeing so many at work, I thought I'd buy them for my nephews and just casually appreciate them before my nephews ripped them apart. For awhile that was good, but I started getting more and more interested myself.

 

So when Tripredacus and Magnaboss came out I got one for each nephew for christmas. Seeing I was a HUGE fan of combiners I told them I'd leave them on my shelf for safe keeping and that they come play with them whenever they want so long as they are back on the shelf when they're done.

 

Well shortly after that the other shoe dropped. I discovered ebay, so I started getting a few cheaper g1 figs that I found and it snowballed from there.

 

I've always kept my nephews in the loop. I show them all the upcoming news and new figure pics and I always show off my newest finds to them. They always knew that they could play with them just about anytime they want under one condition, I HAVE TO BE THERE. That's it.

 

Only one time did I ever have a problem when my youngest nephew decided to pocket a pretender Grimlock and snapped the tail/gun peg off in his hand. He NEVER made that mistake again.

 

I say the best way to deal with the kids is to simply include them. The last thing you want to do is make your collection forbidden to them cuz that will just make them want to get at them more.

 

Plus, my older nephew is just about to turn 16 and he really wants to get his first job....yep....so he has money to buy more TF's!!! My sister is REALLY gonna hate me.  :tfevil

I don't have kids, but remember that Transformers are for Ages 5+. This is primarily a safety recommendation.

 

For early infants, I would go with Raider Magnus and give them the PlaySkool Transformers like the 1-2-3 Transformers and Go-Go-Go-Bots to play with (oh god, now I have that freakin' theme song in my head).

 

"Go! Go! Go-Bots! Transformers Go-Bots!" HAR! Now it's in your heads too!! Suffer!!

He he he, we have the two on the left, and about 8 more.

 

Since they reused names over and over we had to invent our own.

I'ce got a shelf full of Playskool Gobots & I told the little'un next door their the ones she can play with any time.

 

I told my missus the same!

My TFs are allowed to be played with by my 12 year old sister on the condition I know what one and know where she is.  She's not allowed to take it out of the house and has to keep it away from the dogs.  Any little parts, like missiles, she understands about, but usually gives them to me for safekeeping anyway.  As for some pieces, like my Star Convoy and THS G1 Convoy, they're no touchies.  Star Convoy is mint in box.  Also, my God Ginrai is off limits.  I usually let her play with things from Armada and up.  She doesn't like the concepts of transforming beasts, so what few BW figs I have are safe.  And I don't have a whole lot of RiD, so they pretty much stay put.

 

Also, some of my sister's nurses bring their kids over.  So naturally the younger ones are fascinated by my figures, but because their moms don't want them too, they're not allowed to touch my figures (though to be honest, I wouldn't mind all that much as long as they keep to the guidelines like my little sister does).

I have two kids, 5 and 11, both boys.  Plus, my wife keeps a 4 and an 18 month old boy during the school year.

 

Pretty much any toy they can reach, they can play with.  I trust the 11 year old with any of my toys; he knows I expect him to be careful, especially with import or older G1 toys.  We keep all the Cybertron and some leftover Energon and Armada toys within reach of all the kids on bookshelves.  I figure, if one of them would break, it would be easy to replace it, and after all, they are meant to be played.

 

The 5 year old, I let play with pretty much any of my TFs, except 20th Prime, THS-02, Star Convoy, and my TRU reissue G1 Prime.  The expense of these plus the fondness I have for them combine to make me pretty nervous over them. :)

 

Funny story: Over Memorial Day, I bought the Laser OP / Laser Ultra Magnus 2 pack from JRS Toyworld on sale.  I opened Magnus when he arrived, and saved the OP for a later time.  The 5 year old was obsessed with it for a few days.  He immediately ran and got my RiD Scourge and had a battle.  He hugged it, told me "Daddy, he's my FAVORITE!"  Of course, I couldn't object when he wanted to take him inthe car, out to eat, etc.  It's a toy after all!  Maybe his joints are a bit looser now, but the kid loved him and seeing him playing with it makes Laser Ultra Magnus just that much more special for me.

Do not have any kids myself but my brother has a little son.

 

And I do not care what anyone thinks of me but he is not getting anywhere near my Transformers. He is far too descructive and I will not risk my precious Transformers on him.

 

I bought him 2 Go-Bots and he can play with those if he likes.

And I do not care what anyone thinks of me but he is not getting anywhere near my Transformers. He is far too descructive and I will not risk my precious Transformers on him.

 

I bought him 2 Go-Bots and he can play with those if he likes.

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:pfx